Carnlough community rallies around family who 'lost everything' in devastating house fire

Mandy Abram, her partner Darren and daughter Caitlin escaped unharmed from the blaze at their house in the early hours of August 26.

Mandy described how she was leaving for work when she heard a loud bang. "I initially thought it was a car backfiring," she said.

Wondering whether the noise had come from the house, she said she returned indoors to find that a battery pack used for an electric scooter had exploded.

"It was sitting on the kitchen table. It wasn’t on, or charging or anything like that, but it was suddenly going off like a flare,” she recalled. “Everything it hit ignited.”

Alerting her family to the emergency, Mandy and then Darren both tried unsuccessfully to put the flames out with fire extinguishers.

However, with the fire spreading rapidly, they were left with no choice but to escape the building, along with the family's two dogs.

Only moments later, the whole house was engulfed.

"We've lost everything - all we have is whatever clothes we were wearing," Mandy added.

"My son Alfie wasn’t in the house as he was staying at his girlfriend’s, but everything he owned was in his room.

“My daughter is about to start college and lost her clothes, her laptop – everything.”

“There were sentimental things that can’t be replaced. I lost my dad when I was eight and had memorabilia of his in the house, my daughter's Communion dress, things like that.

"But we're still here, and that's the important thing.”

Mandy is now urging those who have e-scooters or similar battery-powered devices at home to be aware of the potential fire risk. “I never want any family to go through what we have,” she said.

Meanwhile, the local mum said she was “blown away” by the generosity of those in Carnlough and further afield after hundreds donated to an online fundraiser in support of the family.

Set up by Mandy’s neighbours Katrina and Siobhan, the fundraiser notes: “Any donations will go towards helping them to rebuild everything they have sadly lost.”

Safety advice

In a statement, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said it was called to an reports of a fire at terraced house on Croft Close on August 26.

Appliances from Cushendall, Carnlough and Larne attended the incident.

"The cause of the fire is believed to be accidental ignition,” a NIFRS spokesperson said.

NIFRS also issued some general safety advice relating to both charging and storing e-bike and e-scooter batteries:

- When charging your e-bike or e-scooter, follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Always use the approved charger and unplug when it’s finished charging.

- Don’t leave batteries to charge while you are asleep or away from home; always charge in an area with a working smoke alarm.

- Don’t overload sockets and avoid using extension leads when charging.

- Do not cover chargers or battery packs when charging.

- Check the battery and charger regularly for signs of damage. If you suspect they are damaged, do not use, replace them instead.

- Do not overcharge your battery – check manufacturer’s instructions for charge times.

- Avoid storing or charging on escape routes.

- Avoid storing in excessively hot or cold areas.